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Sep. 24th, 2010 12:49 pmStarvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest, Gregg Olsen
Claire and Dorothea Williamson were rich British hypochondriacs. When they met charismatic Dr. Linda Hazzard in 1910, they were convinced her fasting cure could help them. They were desperate to go to her "sanitarium", Wilderness Heights, in Olalla, Washington, where patients fasted for days, weeks, or months on a diet of small amounts of tomato and asparagus juice and occasionally, a small teaspoon of orange juice. What could possibly go wrong? While some patients survived and publicly sang her praises, more than 40 patients died under her care, most from starvation. But the Williamsons didn't know that.
Having started their "treatment" of small amounts of juice and osteopathic treatments that left bruises, the sisters went by ambulance to Dr. Hazzard's isolated sanitarium. They were put in separate cabins and each was told that the other was losing her mind, but that was just the effect of the toxins leaving their bodies. Continued fasting would restore them to health! Dorothea was starting to realize that maybe they'd gotten themselves into trouble. She cabled their old nurse, who was appalled when she showed up and learned that Claire had died and that Dorothea weighed less than 60 pounds. Dr. Hazzard tried to keep Dorothea from leaving, but eventually she was able to get away. It also came out that before Claire died, Dr. Hazzard had gotten her to bequeath her fortune to her, in grateful repayment for treatment.
The DA didn't want to try the case because it would be too expensive, but the British Consul arranged for the Crown to pay. Dr. Hazzard was tried and convicted of manslaughter and served two years in prison. Dorothea recovered and moved to England, where she married. Wiser? I don't know. Dr. Hazzard moved to New Zealand for a while, but returned to Olalla in 1920 and once again operated the "sanitarium," even though she'd lost her medical license. Ironically, she died in 1938 while attempting a fasting cure on herself.
Was Dr. Hazzard a cold blooded killer who starved patients to get their money? That's not clear. I mean, she was definitely killed people but it looked as though she was sincere about what she was doing - she believed in fasting enough to die that way. But as an old history professor of mine used to say, sincerity is one of the minor virtues. What was her hold on people? Even after the conviction she had patients who stoutly defended her. Annoyingly, the book doesn't give us many insights into Dr. Hazzard except that she was apparently very charismatic and she liked controlling people, including her husband.
I was annoyed by the whole book. The interesting story is told in the most detailed, plodding way. Much of it is imagined conversations (between Dorothea and Claire at the sanitarium, for instance). Every chapter ends with an italicized paragraph of someone talking about something like how they were always scared to walk past the ruins of the old sanitarium, only without dates or who's speaking, so that you're wondering what it has to do with the narrative. It actually doesn't have anything to do with it; these are memories of people who lived in the area. I guess they're supposed to convey the creepiness of the tale. I gave up a third of the way in and skimmed the rest.
Claire and Dorothea Williamson were rich British hypochondriacs. When they met charismatic Dr. Linda Hazzard in 1910, they were convinced her fasting cure could help them. They were desperate to go to her "sanitarium", Wilderness Heights, in Olalla, Washington, where patients fasted for days, weeks, or months on a diet of small amounts of tomato and asparagus juice and occasionally, a small teaspoon of orange juice. What could possibly go wrong? While some patients survived and publicly sang her praises, more than 40 patients died under her care, most from starvation. But the Williamsons didn't know that.
Having started their "treatment" of small amounts of juice and osteopathic treatments that left bruises, the sisters went by ambulance to Dr. Hazzard's isolated sanitarium. They were put in separate cabins and each was told that the other was losing her mind, but that was just the effect of the toxins leaving their bodies. Continued fasting would restore them to health! Dorothea was starting to realize that maybe they'd gotten themselves into trouble. She cabled their old nurse, who was appalled when she showed up and learned that Claire had died and that Dorothea weighed less than 60 pounds. Dr. Hazzard tried to keep Dorothea from leaving, but eventually she was able to get away. It also came out that before Claire died, Dr. Hazzard had gotten her to bequeath her fortune to her, in grateful repayment for treatment.
The DA didn't want to try the case because it would be too expensive, but the British Consul arranged for the Crown to pay. Dr. Hazzard was tried and convicted of manslaughter and served two years in prison. Dorothea recovered and moved to England, where she married. Wiser? I don't know. Dr. Hazzard moved to New Zealand for a while, but returned to Olalla in 1920 and once again operated the "sanitarium," even though she'd lost her medical license. Ironically, she died in 1938 while attempting a fasting cure on herself.
Was Dr. Hazzard a cold blooded killer who starved patients to get their money? That's not clear. I mean, she was definitely killed people but it looked as though she was sincere about what she was doing - she believed in fasting enough to die that way. But as an old history professor of mine used to say, sincerity is one of the minor virtues. What was her hold on people? Even after the conviction she had patients who stoutly defended her. Annoyingly, the book doesn't give us many insights into Dr. Hazzard except that she was apparently very charismatic and she liked controlling people, including her husband.
I was annoyed by the whole book. The interesting story is told in the most detailed, plodding way. Much of it is imagined conversations (between Dorothea and Claire at the sanitarium, for instance). Every chapter ends with an italicized paragraph of someone talking about something like how they were always scared to walk past the ruins of the old sanitarium, only without dates or who's speaking, so that you're wondering what it has to do with the narrative. It actually doesn't have anything to do with it; these are memories of people who lived in the area. I guess they're supposed to convey the creepiness of the tale. I gave up a third of the way in and skimmed the rest.
